Letters to the Editor 

QUEEN CITY SOLUTIONS

I think an ethnic market and marina are both great ideas in “Building a Better Burlington” [March 4]. I’ve watched the sailors doing their shopping and trying to get back to the present dockage. They look haggard and very uncomfortable. Actually, I had one ask me why we didn’t have better facilities at the waterfront: showers, a grocery store and shipyard, such as the one that used to be there, for boat parts and repairs. Also, it would be very nice if we had a really nice lakeside restaurant on the water. A little more upscale than the one by the ferry and Splash. What about the Blodgett building that sits right on the water? Is that building being used? Also, I’ve missed the little café Mirabelles used to have on the bike path. It was a great place to walk or ride to, have a cup of coffee, and read the paper, if you were so inclined. Someone mentioned a rooftop restaurant on Church Street. There was one in the building over the mall. It was before its time; maybe now is the time to bring it back. It was super.

Carol Shepherd

BURLINGTON

LET THEM TAKE THE BUS

Was that a hairball I choked on? It must have come from Seven Days shedding its fluff in “Building a Better Burlington” [March 4.]. Amazingly, while the paper pillars of Wall St. profits get pulled into the global shredder, 7D dredges up the idea of a grocery store on the waterfront for the privileged elite whose boats were not shipwrecked by stock losses. Ever heard of the bus? It’s free and delivers you from the dock to the doorstep of City Market. Oh, but we don’t have enough slips for the rich? Let ’em go to Shelburne and Malletts Bay. Then we’ll still have room for the regular people who walk down Depot St. to go fishing on the pier without having to listen to caviar-crunching tourists.

The amnesia of the media strikes again. Remember the Waterfront Plan? It was developed by the people, to preserve the Waterfront for the people, not to lament the lack of boat slips for the leisure class. Bolton is still Bolton because it has no highway off-ramp… “Building a Better Burlington” might look like everybody rolling up their sleeves and bringing one family living with hardly any income a good, three-course meal every Saturday night, too.

Liz Curry

BURLINGTON

ON POINT

Dan Bolles’ piece on Mike Luoma [“(No) Money for Nothing,” February 25], in addition to being a sad report on what’s happening in local media, was a well-deserved tribute to a great local radio personality.

I first met Mike in the journalism program at St. Michael’s College two decades ago, and he was already on his way to becoming a top disk jockey. His encyclopedic knowledge of virtually every band out there was one thing; his love for what he was doing was something else entirely. He reveled in life behind the control board, and he helped dozens of other students do the same.

While many of us at SMC had no clear idea of what we wanted out of our education, Mike knew exactly what he wanted: a career sharing music.

While Mike may be temporarily looking for his next gig, he shouldn’t have to wait long. Any station in Vermont would do well to add him to its playlist.

Steve Costello

RUTLAND TOWN

COFFEE-BUZZ KILL

The last three paragraphs of Suzanne Podhaizer’s article [“Hot Shot,” March 4] about learning to make coffee at the totally awesome Espresso Bueno in Barre left me with a sour feeling. Baristas don’t make very much money, and they make a lot less than chefs do. Also, they have to deal with obnoxious customers face to face, all day long. Podhaizer’s joking tone barely conceals her disdain for the service industry. Go ahead, get behind the counter and give it a try, full time!

Julia Lewandoski

BURLINGTON